Goths often develop a personal style by modeling or re-modeling a dark archetype like the vampire, the witch, the zombie, the femme fatale...But archetypes can decompose into stereotypes and then rot further into cliches. Once cliches, these archetypes succumb to rigor mortis and decay away...
The femme fatale is often represented as a figure of powerful female sexuality. But who made her a representative? Who gave her the power? And who has the power to take it all away? Is the femme fatale a potent archetype or little more than a porn cliche?
Trope or cliche, that is the question posed in this short video on the Feminist Frequency titled: 'The Evil Demon Seductress'. Admittedly this video isn't specifically about the femme fatale. Only her supernatural evil sister. But the same criticisms apply. The evil sexy woman is a cliche. And one that reinforces sexist and misogynist notions about women and female sexuality.
As Anita Sarkeesian says, this common theme always shows women [to paraphrase] 'using sexuality to manipulate poor hapless men.' They 'use [their] sexuality as a weapon.' The evil demon seductress is never portrayed as actually 'enjoying or exploring her sexuality.' No, it is always about power and control. Sex makes women powerful. Gives them power over men. That is all the sexy demon seductress wants. She always has an 'ulterior motive.' And her 'sexuality is [always] dangerous.' All the sexist and misogynist stereotypes of women and their sexuality are present in the evil demon seductress. So men get to enjoy her sexy body while getting their sexist patriarchal attitudes towards women and sexuality confirmed.
And that is the crucial role of the evil demon seductress. And the femme fatale. She is not some great villain or awesome theme. She is an ideological construct fulfilling an important role within a patriarchal culture.
The femme fatale is a male fantasy. And in a sexist society, male fantasies are tools of male dominance. Male desire constrains and choreographs the femme fatale as a sex object par excellence. She has all the cruelty, coldness and self-transcendence of an object. And as nothing but an empty mirror, a relentless monster of male projection, she is a cautionary tale and a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The battle between the sexes is stil on. Sex here is about power. The femme fatale uses her sexuality to dominate men. But it isn't about her sexuality at all. No, she personifies male fantasies and fulfills male desires. Even as she is supposedly controlling them, she is catering to their every wish and whim and fancy. She is completely their creature, modifying her being for them. To fit their 'dark' idealization. How is that empowering? How is that about self-expression?
Another issue with the femme fatale is the one-sided nature of her power. The femme fatale only has power because of her sexuality. The F Word puts it perfectly 'The problem is, that within our pornified culture, women seem to only be able to find power in their sexualized bodies.' Women can only assert themselves as sex object. The femme fatale isn't risque or norm-defying. She is a porn type. And if it is in porn, it is mainstream and safe for the male viewer. The femme fatale has been totally defanged and declawed for male consumption. And worse, her power is utterly fake. Based as it is on catering to what men want.
The strip-to-control-the-drip scenario: Show me some skin and I'll listen to what you have to say. Show me a boob and I'll even buy you a drink. Pull up your pvc skirt and, well, baby...I'll give you whatever you want. That is the femme fatale's sexuality. That is the worst version of female sexuality in our culture. Goth girls behaving badly. The femme fatale is no radical. No real threat to the male order.
The femme fatale is the projection of the perfect woman from the standpoint of patriarchal ideology. She justifies male dominance while looking fabulous because she is nothing more than a predator. She can never be an equal. She can never be a full participant in society. She is a "threat" that must be neutralized. The shrew must be tamed and converted into the complete submissive. That is the bottom line of the femme fatale.
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